Sydney, Australia: The Perfect First Day

At 6AM on December 20, 2022, I touched down in Sydney after a 14 hour flight to Tokyo and another 10 hour flight to Sydney. A fun fact about me is that I sort of love long plane rides. As someone who feels this constant need to do something, planes trap me for hours on end with nothing but my Kindle and a few tempting movies. If you need recommendations, I loved the book“Remarkably Bright Creatures” and the movie “Operation Mincemeat.” The only part of me that felt eager for these plane rides to end was the part of me that wanted to shower.

I spent five full days in Sydney, each one punctuated with some unique activity that made me fall deeply in love with this beautiful city. Our first venture out was for what I dreamed Australia was made of - flat whites and fancy yogurt bowls. Industry Beans, you fulfilled my Australian fantasies. I need to go buy flowers now to make my homemade Fage bowls instagram worthy.

Full of yogurt and flat whites, we headed to the Taronga Zoo because what better way to pass the time waiting for your hotel room to be ready than to look at adorable animals while kind of smelling like one too? Finally, I laid eyes on a Koala, a dream of mine since high school, since our mascot was a Koala. I saw a Tasmanian Devil, which looks nothing like I thought. And tucked away in a tree stump, I saw a quokka, the animal that smiles, the animal I most identify with in this worl

Although the zoo was great, it ranked lowest for wildlife sightings for our trip because there were so many great opportunities to see Koalas in the coming days. We passed the rest of the afternoon gawking at the Sydney Opera House, which is so magnificent from every angle.

After finally showering, we headed to Maybe Sammy, one of the top cocktail bars in the world. With bags under our eyes, and smiles on our faces, we went to bed that night knowing that the next 2 weeks would bring a whole host of adventures!